


My Friends, My Band, My Family

by cosmicoyote



Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: Alex's POV, Breaking Free, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Episode: s01e09 Stand Tall, Found Family, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-12
Updated: 2021-01-12
Packaged: 2021-03-17 00:28:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,930
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28715754
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cosmicoyote/pseuds/cosmicoyote
Summary: Julie thought she would have to take on the most important performance of her life solo when the boys fail to turn up at the Orpheum. Little does she know that the boys are fighting their hardest just to be where they belong: by her side and playing their hearts out.
Comments: 12
Kudos: 61





	My Friends, My Band, My Family

**Author's Note:**

> I came up with the concept while writing some mock scripts for a s2 opening. I thought it would be dramatic, an attention grabber, and a way to recall the emotional season finale if we had a replay of the third act from Alex's pov. This was supposed to stop when the boys poof away after the song ends, but I couldn't resist adding an emotional scene in the garage.
> 
> Enjoy. ♥

Not having control over your own body while being thrust before a crowd was the most terrifying experience Alex had ever endured. That was saying something because he vaguely remembered dying, but at least _that_ had been quick.

This extended music number was agony. Even though the crowd before them was happily watching, dancing along, and enjoying the nightlife of the Hollywood Ghost Club, he was feeling quite the opposite. 

His hands were moving and controlling his drum sticks as he struck the drums and tapped the cymbals, but it was not because he wanted to. He was planted to his stool, unable to do more than watch in horror as the band around him danced and played their instruments with smiles glued to their glossed lips.

What was worse was seeing the faces of his bandmates.

Reggie looked terrified as his body jerkily danced across the stage, his fingers moving automatically on his bass guitar, but he was nothing more than a puppet on strings. He had zero control of his own body.

Luke was clearly fighting the hold of the puppeteer. His feet dragged even as his hands shredded cords on his electric guitar. His face was the picture of furious with his turned down brows and slightly bared teeth. He was fighting hard to break free, but was unable to. 

They were all strong spirits in their own way, but the one who commanded them was stronger. 

Alex strained against the invisible bonds that kept him planted behind the drum set and playing so mechanically, but it was hopeless. Caleb had his hooks dug into them, and the jolts had weakened them to the point they couldn't fight back.

Reggie had frustrated tears in his eyes as he too struggled to throw off Caleb's spell, while Luke looked ready to punch the magician square in the face.

Alex felt like that if he wasn't a ghost, he would be sweating from the effort of trying to regain control.

When the song ended, the playing stopped but they were all trapped on stage. The crowd applauded, blissfully unaware of the torment the band was enduring for the sake of entertaining them and keeping Caleb wealthy. The whole situation was enough to send Alex's brain into a panicked spiral.

Reggie had stopped playing and was looking around at his two friends, his legs locked in place but his arms trembling. Luke was in a similar state, but while Reggie still looked shocked and scared, Luke just looked angry. 

Their second chance at performing at the Orpheum and their path to potentially crossing over had been blocked by a conniving and wealthy ghost. The man in question stood front and center stage as he bowed and took in the storm of applause for him and his new band.

People were cheering their names, including some lifers they had all spoken to the first night at the Hollywood Ghost Club. They waved cheerfully at them as they clapped. 

Applause shouldn't feel this terrifying.

Alex's eyes swept the crowd, searching for not a lifer but a ghost who he wanted to make sure was okay. Willie had sacrificed so much just to get Julie and the Phantoms on stage at the Orpheum, and now he was nowhere to be seen.

Had Caleb done something to him? Maybe the evil magician had discovered that Willie had gone behind his back and was now punishing him. Caleb was the type to throw pain at others if he didn't get his way. 

More panic made Alex tremble. He and his friends were in the grip of a crazy performer, and a guy he had started to harbor feelings for was missing.

It seemed so hopeless.

Then, just as a new song was starting up, Alex felt a weird tugging sensation in his chest, like an invisible hand were pulling on his shirt. His skin warmed, and he felt as if a crack had formed in the controlling spell.

_"They were my friends... my band... my family."_

The words were true. Alex knew that. Even if he had difficulty figuring out whose voice it was at first, the words themselves made sense to him.

They drew him in, stronger than Caleb's hold and like a light at the end of this tunnel of torment.

Alex held onto those words because he now knew who had uttered them.

Julie. Julie was talking about him, Luke, and Reggie. They were more than dead bandmates to her. They were her family.

Alex gripped onto that thought like a lifeline. The warmth from her words made it easier to push back against Caleb's hold. The more he thought about Julie, the easier it was for him to force himself to stop playing.

He thought of their rehearsals; of goofing around with Julie and the other two when they took breaks; of writing songs together and figuring out what melodies worked; and of just being around their lead singer. She was like sunshine: radiating her warmth and brightness wherever she went. She was brave, smart, compassionate, and she loved them. She loved them like family. 

No sooner had Alex let this thought take a hold of him did he hear Julie's voice again, this time singing. She was belting out lyrics for a song they had all written together. 

_Whatever happens even if I'm the last standing  
Ima stand tall  
Ima stand tall _

_Whatever happens  
Even when everything's down  
Ima stand tall  
Ima stand tall_

Alex followed her voice in his head and focused on poofing. He needed to get to Julie. That's all he could focus on was finding her. They had a show to do - the most important show of their lives.

_Ima stand tall!_

Suddenly, Alex was rushing away from Caleb, the controlled band, and the cheering audience was replaced by a smaller one. 

He could move his hands freely again! He began banging on his drums and smiling brightly as he caught sight of Julie. Her eyes were bright with tears as she smiled at him, just a few feet away at her keyboard. 

Alex beamed at her, no longer feeling the strangling hold that Caleb had on him. He was free!

The icy bonds melted away as he played alongside Julie who was singing more confidently now.

Then Reggie appeared, playing his bass with more fluid and natural movements as he grinned at a very relieved Julie. They had made it!

Well, most of them...

Luke was struggling. He was striking out and was using all of his energy to stay here with them and leave that trap of a ghost club behind. 

He flickered in and out like a bad signal, his angry expression replaced by true panic. Alex couldn't do more than watch and hope against hope that Luke pulled through.

All the while, Julie sang, coaxing Luke to her and the rest of the band with her powerful voice. And it was if she herself gave him strength because just a moment later, Luke appeared fully and began to sing along with Julie, his toothy grin in place.

Julie hurried over to him, a look of intense relief on her face as they played together once again.

As they performed, Alex could no longer feel the effects of Caleb's jolts. He felt stronger and now had control over his own movements. 

Reggie jumped around with his usual energy, while Luke only had eyes for Julie as they sang a song they all wrote together as a band.

Everything was just as it always was until Reggie and Julie strutted down the stage side by side. Reggie smiled at the crowd with his characteristic energy and dorkiness while Julie's voice intermingled with Luke's in the vocals.

Then Julie leaned back with her mic, and Reggie did the same with his guitar. Instead of Julie leaning through Reggie and showing they were masquerading as holograms, Julie's shoulders appeared to touch Reggie's. 

Alex stared at this, but they pulled away before he could be sure he saw what he thought he did. Maybe he was a little delirious from the jolts.

Then Luke stepped back from his mic, and it was time for Alex's solo. He had been a little nervous about doing a solo again - not having done once since "Now or Never" back in 1995, but he knew he could do it. His bandmates, his family, were here backing him up and giving him all the support he could handle. Their presence gave him the courage to belt out his solo:

_Whatever happens  
Even if I'm the last standing  
Ima stand tall  
Ima stand tall_

He grinned as Luke and Julie looked back at him with bright smiles, all traces of their exhaustion and tears gone.

Reggie took up his solo, then Alex joined him, and they jumped into the chorus along with Julie and Luke.

They were all using different instruments and moving in their own ways, but performing the song made them feel like a single entity moving in tandem.

Then the song was ending, and all four of them were walking to the end of the stage to take their bows.

Alex gripped Luke's hand, a feeling of relief flooding through him mixed with sadness. Yes, they had fulfilled their dream of performing at the Orpheum, but this meant they would cross over and leave Julie behind.

She would go far, Alex knew that. Her star shone too brightly for her not to. He and the other boys didn't know what their next step in their journey would be, but if they left Julie with a new sense of courage and reassurance in her abilities, then it was all worth coming back for.

Alex swallowed and braced himself. Any moment now, he, Luke and Reggie would poof away and crossover. Where they would end up, he didn't know. He hoped somewhere happy and together. They'd been through too much now to be separated.

Their instruments had stopped, so they poofed out, ready to embrace the feeling of maybe floating up into the air and finally crossing over to a peaceful plane where they could play music together. Being with his best friends and enjoying their time together sounded like paradise. He couldn't wait to watch TV with Reggie; write more songs with Luke; jam out for other spirits if they met more like them…

But his dream was shattered as he felt another jolt tear through his chest.

Alex cried out and collapsed onto a cold hard surface that ended up being the alley behind the Orpheum where they had taken their last walk 25 years ago.

Luke grunted as he landed beside him. A second later, he gasped when Reggie appeared and cracked heads with him.

That had to hurt. 

"What the-!" Luke sat up slowly and looked around, panting and shaking. "Why are we here!?"

"Why didn't we cross over?" Reggie asked weakly as he sat up, too, and rubbed his chest where the jolts were zapping them. The drained look to their skin had returned, making them all look like they had the flu.

"I don't know," Alex answered, fighting to get to his feet. "Shouldn't we have after playing the Orpheum?"

"Unless that wasn't it," Luke growled bitterly. His voice was hoarse like he was struggling not to break down. Alex didn't blame him. He himself was only ever really calm when others around him panicked. 

"Then what were we supposed to do!?" Reggie demanded, his voice cracking. "After all that we went through and worked to get here-"

Another jolt went through them, effectively cutting off Reggie's sentence.

Alex gripped his stomach and panted. "We guessed wrong."

"Can we not stay here?" Luke said as he helped Reggie stand. They leaned on one another for support as if they wouldn't be able to stay upright without the other. "I don't wanna zap out in this cold alley."

"I wanna go back to Julie's," Reggie said before Alex could come up with a different idea. "I'd feel better if the garage was the last place I was in…"

Alex frowned. "Julie might go there when she gets home."

"Nah. She looked pretty drained. She'll go right to bed," Luke said confidently. 

He didn't think so, but Alex didn't have the energy to argue the point. He was so exhausted and ready to go to sleep.

Reggie nodded and held out his hand to Alex. He took it, and they poofed together to the Molinas' garage.

It was pitch black, but the boys didn't get a chance to flick on a light because another jolt sent them all to their knees then flat on their backs.

"That was the worst one yet," Reggie panted from somewhere to Alex's left. 

Luke groaned and shifted closer. Alex felt his shoulder brush his head, and he knew he was looking for physical contact. "We had a good run, didn't we, boys?"

Leave it to Luke to be so optimistic. Reggie normally was more on that wavelength, but pain was making him less enthusiastic.

"Yeah…" Reggie murmured. "We rocked the socks off the Orpheum."

"You could've worded that differently, but yeah… we brought the house down. I hope that performance helps Julie's career." Alex sighed and rested his head against something he thought was Reggie's leg.

Luke sighed then swallowed audibly. "She's gonna be a legend in a way we never got to be… I'm so proud of her."

"Me, too," Alex murmured at about the time Reggie said the same thing.

Another jolt made Alex arch his back and yelp. Reggie was right. The jolts were getting more painful.

There was a moment of silence as the three of them struggled to catch their breath (metaphorically speaking).

Then Reggie whispered, "I'm gonna miss them… Julie, Flynn, Carlos, and Ray… I know most of them never saw us, but…" His breathing got heavier like he was choking back tears. "They're family, too."

"Yeah, they are, Reg." Luke sounded close to crying, too, but Alex saw in a small patch of moonlight Luke reached out to put his hand over Reggie's wrist and grip it. "I'll miss them, too."

Alex scooted over just enough to touch the other two on the hand as well. Their grip on each other was weak, but it was more assuring to touch like this. He didn't feel so alone.

"D-Do you think once we disappear, Julie will forget us?" Reggie choked.

Where in the world did he get an idea like that? Alex wanted to snap both from the ridiculous thought and from just being in pain, but he forced a calmer tone when he murmured, "Of course not. Julie loves us. We're her family. She said so herself."

"I thought I heard her," Luke said, sounding pleased. "At the Ghost Club on stage. I heard her calling us her family. It's what gave me the strength to fight off Caleb."

Reggie coughed then blurted, "I heard her, too! I thought I was losing my mind." He shivered. "I think her voice saved us from playing at that club for all eternity."

Alex couldn't believe it. Their bond with Julie went deeper than he could've imagined. All three of them had heard her and found the strength to break free and appear at her side. Where they belonged until now.

"Super Julie," Luke murmured randomly. He chuckled weakly, and this was enough to get the other two snickering a little.

Until another jolt promptly shut them up.

"I wish we could've told her goodbye," Luke said once he could talk again. 

"Same," Reggie agreed. "But… at least she can think we've crossed over and not worry."

"Yeah, about that," Alex said as he turned his head. He saw lights move over the garage windows like search beams. "They're home now. If she comes in here, keep your mouths shut."

Luke held onto their hands as yet another jolt shot through them. "I don't want her to see us like this."

They fell silent as they faintly heard Julie and her family singing "Stand Tall" as they made their way up to the house. For a moment, Alex was convinced they would pass by the garage and go inside. They could just vanish and not have to worry about hurting Julie further.

But then he heard footsteps approaching, and he knew he could put money on who it was. 

Luke swore softly and twitched behind him. 

"Be quiet!" Alex warned quietly as they heard the lock click and the doors pull open.

Alex could just make out Julie walking into the garage. Her small form was framed by the moonlight coming in through the windows, making her look a little otherworldly. 

He felt Luke tense under his fingers, able to determine it was him because of his bulkier rings. 

Alex shut his eyes and hoped she wouldn't turn on the lights. Julie would be so heartbroken and traumatized if she had to watch them expire like this on her garage floor.

Then she spoke, and he felt the chill inside of him warm the smallest amount. 

"I know I already said this but, uh… thank you, guys."

He fought the tears threatening his eyes. Julie had brought them back to life as much as they had for her. They had helped each other grow, get over fears, grieve their loses, and chased after their dreams. Even though three-fourths of their band was not alive, they had made it work. They were a family…

Then Reggie opened his big mouth.

"You're welcome," he blurted in that tactful and thought-out way of his.

Alex sighed loudly in exasperation as Luke hissed, _"Dude!"_

Julie moved back and flicked the lights on.

The boys grimaced from the light, but the burn in their eyes was nothing compared to the jolts they had been experiencing all day.

"What are you guys doing here? I thought-"

The boys gasped as a shock wave scorched their chests. 

Reggie started to cough, and Luke's chest heaved as if he had just run dozens of miles. Alex felt light-headed and sick. If he had had a stomach, he would be puking all over the place. 

Julie was voicing her belief that they had crossed over, and Alex replied with what he had suspected when they poofed into the alley first.

"I guess playing the Orpheum wasn't our unfinished business," he said as he struggled to sit upright.

This was all a mess, and now Julie knew they weren't safe and crossed over like they had all hoped would happen once they took their final bows. Alex had wanted to save her the pain of seeing them die a second time, but now here she was here with tears sparkling in her eyes and looking on the verge of breaking down.

"Point: Caleb," Reggie said bitterly. The magician had warned them that playing at the venue they just missed out on when they were alive wouldn't necessarily be their unfinished business. 

None of them wanted to believe him because a) they were desperate and b) they hadn't been able to come up with any other options. 

Luke sat up, and Alex saw clearly that his eyes were red from crying. "We wanted you to think we crossed over, so we pretended to," he said in a thick voice with his focus on Julie. And again, save her from having to see them like this: weak and on the verge of disappearing for good.

"We just… we had nowhere else to go," Luke added, shaking his head slightly.

This is our home, too. 

The words weren't said, but Alex saw it in everyone else's expressions. If they were going to go down, they wanted it to be somewhere they felt safe. He was annoyed Reggie had given them away, but having their lives end here in the place where they made music together was a comforting thought as opposed to going out in that dank alley… or really anywhere else.

When Reggie said something about believing Julie wouldn't come down here and go straight up to her room, Alex sighed again as his irritation flared.

"Well, I knew she would come out here but _nobody_ ever listen to me-"

Their chests sparked bright blue as the third jolt in less than five minutes hit them.

Soft groans escaped them as they struggled to stay on their feet.

"You have to save yourselves right now!" Julie said through her tears. She began begging them to leave and join Caleb so that they didn't have to just be erased from existence, but Reggie shook his head.

"We aren't going back there," he choked.

Being Caleb's puppet for all eternity sounded like hell on earth. 

"No music is worth making, Julie, if we aren't making it with you." Luke's voice shook with suppressed sobs.

Alex's heart ached more than those jolts could ever hurt because they were all in pain and scared. Julie didn't want them to go anymore than they wanted to leave, especially not like this.

Julie stood on her toes and threw her arms around Luke. Alex froze because now he was sure that Julie had touched Reggie on stage when they were out on the platform. Still… there was something very sweet about their embrace.

"I love you guys," Julie whispered.

Then Luke started to glow. It was as if Julie's touch had lit up a beacon inside of him. As they watched, the pale tinge to Luke's skin vanished, and his swollen eyes softened as he smiled down at Julie.

They murmured to each other, and for a moment, Alex felt like he and Reggie had turned into third wheels.

Then Luke turned to them, holding Julie's hands, and said, "I feel stronger."

Julie called Alex and Reggie over, and the pair of them stumbled over to Julie's side. They walked into a group hug, Julie's arm around his waist and Luke's just about hers.

As they touched, Alex felt as if he had taken a sip of hot tea that trickled through his body and warmed his insides. The chills and aches from the jolts draining his energy vanished, and he felt even stronger than he had before. 

They slowly pulled back from the hug but kept their arms around one another.

"I don't feel as weak anymore," Reggie murmured as a few tears trailed down his flushed cheeks. 

Alex agreed fervently before his anxiety kicked in and he added, "Not that I was ever weak."

Then the purple stamps that Caleb had given them just days ago appeared on their skin before peeling off like an old sticker and vanishing into thin air.

Alex felt a sigh of relief escape him as if heavy weight had been lifted off his chest.

"I think the band's back," Luke said with a shaky grin. 

Alex asked if they could try hugging again, and the others chuckled before moving in for another group embrace.

There was a warmth coming off of Julie that they were all taking in and finding strength from. She was their light in life, the spark that had brought them back to do what they loved most in life (and now in death) - playing music.

Laughing, they jumped in a circle as Julie cried happily, "We played the Orpheum!"

As they all leaned into each other, exchanging smiles and basking in the fact all four of them could touch now, Alex agreed with Luke's words: the band was back. 

Their little family was back.


End file.
